Free Wine and Wild Street Sledding in Icod de Los Vinos
Gracela Einarson
Free wine for everyone and an old tradition of steep street racing make the festival of San Andrés in Icod de los Vinos something very special. Local youth with small sledges race down the steepest streets in town while the new wine flows. Wow! What a fiesta!
The wineries of Icod de los Vinos highlight the fiesta of Saint Andrew (San Andrés) by introducing their new wines every year at the end of November. It is an old tradition accompanied by an even older one: the ancient method of transporting wood and barrels of wine down the steep hillsides to the sea on sleds. This method has developed into a hazardous game over the centuries. Small wooden sledges made mostly from heartwood waxed with resin are used by hundreds of locals to win fame by scoring the fastest speeds on the steep streets of the town.
The main race starts at the top of the steepest sledding street, El Plano. We happen to live there and could follow the two-day wild event from our balcony.Most are using gloves, and it is easy to understand whyThe kids participate at an early ageFathers and offspringsHere we come!Viva Icod de Los Vinos!Still too young, but maybe next year?A teenager on his wayThere is no need for snow here; the speed gets very fast, and the race ends in a pile of used car tiresThe whole town is transformed into a party groundThe smaller kids are using the smaller streetsThe fiesta is a big event in Tenerife, and roasted chestnuts are the main snackPeople from all over the island participate, and they need foodThe streets become restaurantsOne of the many local wineries preparing for the tasting event. The wine is free, but you need to bring a glass.If you don’t have a glass, you can buy one for a euroNew wine, new lifePeople gather for the symbolic uncorking of the new wines. Complimentary wine and food at Plaza de la PilaA local orchestra plays old folk musicGrowing up with music in my veinsThe street sledding will go on for two days and nightsThe street outside our house is packed with party people while the sleds run fastStill a little space for the sleds, one at full speed right under me
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